Places of calm and contemplation, cemeteries are unfortunately also the target of theft. On All Saints Day, but also the rest of the year, the graves of our deceased are looted. Last November, our colleagues from France 3 Hauts-de-France spoke with the mayor of Vendin-lès-Béthune (Pas-de-Calais), Sylvie Meyfroidt.

In a few days, the city councilor noticed three thefts of hotpots. “The cemeteries are always a little more flowery during the All Saints’ period which, I think, attracts people who have little or no means to pay for pots, so they have a little fun to please their dead,” she explains.

Flowers, of course, but not only. The police also note thefts of metal plates, metal, brass or copper objects such as ornaments or crosses.

A few months earlier, in May, 20 minutes echoed theft concerning medallions, statuettes, pots, vases or even plants. The perpetrators of these thefts risk up to 15,000 euros in fines and one year in prison.

With France 3, the mayor of Vendin-lès-Béthune also remarks that “destitute” people fill cans at the taps of cemeteries “to recover some drinking water because they probably cannot pay these bills- the”.